Urban Delights

We used to have pride in our built environment

Although Britain is slowly recovering a sense of pride in its built environment, it's still as nothing when compared to the efforts of Victorian and early twentieth century ancestors. Look at this wonderful row of buildings in the centre of Birmingham. Various buildings with loads of features, all in scale and harmony. In those days the value of an impressive building was given considerable weight in the balance against shareholders demands to squeeze the costs of every commercial enterprise, or the need to placate the public, whose short sighted horizons might mitigate against spending public money on inspiring buildings. These days, at the merest whiff of money being spent on a public monument, there is uproar in the press and an inevitable backing down by councillors, MPs and ministers, all keen to retain their precious voter profile at the next election. A plague on newspapers, their cretinous editors and the whingeing curmudgeons that inhabit there pathetic letters pages.

I don't suppose the days of civic and commercial pride will ever return in any truly inspiring way.

More photos of civic pride in Birmingham here